Soulbleeding is a parasitic Gift of the Soul that enables a mage to physically siphon life force and energy from another person across vast distances. Seen in the mind's eye as a thin red strand, the soulbleed continuously drains the victim to fuel the master's own magical reserves, allowing the master to perform strenuous Prime magic far longer than should naturally be possible.
The villain Cariel secretly placed a soulbleed on all of her thousands of offspring, claiming the magic works far better when tied to blood relatives. This dark link was the unknown cause of her daughter Arra's lifelong fainting spells and weakness. During a climactic battle, Cariel uses the soulbleed to nearly drain Arra to death, until Trey intervenes; fueled by rage, he uses a brief, distant surge of mindmaster and mergemelding magic to pierce Cariel's mind and disrupt the horrific connection.